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a princess of mars-第4章

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to it; to draw me as the lodestone attracts a particle of iron。



My longing was beyond the power of opposition; I closed

my eyes; stretched out my arms toward the god of my vocation

and felt myself drawn with the suddenness of thought through

the trackless immensity of space。  There was an instant of

extreme cold and utter darkness。









CHAPTER III





MY ADVENT ON MARS





I opened my eyes upon a strange and weird landscape。  I

knew that I was on Mars; not once did I question either my

sanity or my wakefulness。  I was not asleep; no need for pinching

here; my inner consciousness told me as plainly that I was

upon Mars as your conscious mind tells you that you are upon

Earth。  You do not question the fact; neither did I。



I found myself lying prone upon a bed of yellowish;

mosslike vegetation which stretched around me in all directions

for interminable miles。  I seemed to be lying in a deep; circular

basin; along the outer verge of which I could distinguish the

irregularities of low hills。



It was midday; the sun was shining full upon me and the

heat of it was rather intense upon my naked body; yet no

greater than would have been true under similar conditions on

an Arizona desert。  Here and there were slight outcroppings

of quartz…bearing rock which glistened in the sunlight; and

a little to my left; perhaps a hundred yards; appeared a low;

walled enclosure about four feet in height。  No water; and

no other vegetation than the moss was in evidence; and as I

was somewhat thirsty I determined to do a little exploring。



Springing to my feet I received my first Martian surprise;

for the effort; which on Earth would have brought me standing

upright; carried me into the Martian air to the height of about

three yards。  I alighted softly upon the ground; however; without

appreciable shock or jar。  Now commenced a series of

evolutions which even then seemed ludicrous in the extreme。

I found that I must learn to walk all over again; as the muscular

exertion which carried me easily and safely upon Earth played

strange antics with me upon Mars。



Instead of progressing in a sane and dignified manner; my

attempts to walk resulted in a variety of hops which took me

clear of the ground a couple of feet at each step and landed

me sprawling upon my face or back at the end of each second

or third hop。  My muscles; perfectly attuned and accustomed

to the force of gravity on Earth; played the mischief with me

in attempting for the first time to cope with the lesser gravitation

and lower air pressure on Mars。



I was determined; however; to explore the low structure

which was the only evidence of habitation in sight; and so I

hit upon the unique plan of reverting to first principles in

locomotion; creeping。  I did fairly well at this and in a few

moments had reached the low; encircling wall of the enclosure。



There appeared to be no doors or windows upon the side

nearest me; but as the wall was but about four feet high I

cautiously gained my feet and peered over the top upon the

strangest sight it had ever been given me to see。



The roof of the enclosure was of solid glass about four or

five inches in thickness; and beneath this were several hundred

large eggs; perfectly round and snowy white。  The eggs were

nearly uniform in size being about two and one…half feet in

diameter。



Five or six had already hatched and the grotesque caricatures

which sat blinking in the sunlight were enough to cause

me to doubt my sanity。  They seemed mostly head; with little

scrawny bodies; long necks and six legs; or; as I afterward

learned; two legs and two arms; with an intermediary pair of

limbs which could be used at will either as arms or legs。  Their

eyes were set at the extreme sides of their heads a trifle above

the center and protruded in such a manner that they could

be directed either forward or back and also independently of

each other; thus permitting this queer animal to look in any

direction; or in two directions at once; without the necessity

of turning the head。



The ears; which were slightly above the eyes and closer together;

were small; cup…shaped antennae; protruding not more than an inch on

these young specimens。  Their noses were but longitudinal slits in

the center of their faces; midway between their mouths and ears。



There was no hair on their bodies; which were of a very

light yellowish…green color。  In the adults; as I was to learn

quite soon; this color deepens to an olive green and is darker

in the male than in the female。  Further; the heads of the

adults are not so out of proportion to their bodies as in the

case of the young。



The iris of the eyes is blood red; as in Albinos; while the

pupil is dark。  The eyeball itself is very white; as are the teeth。

These latter add a most ferocious appearance to an otherwise

fearsome and terrible countenance; as the lower tusks

curve upward to sharp points which end about where the eyes

of earthly human beings are located。  The whiteness of the

teeth is not that of ivory; but of the snowiest and most gleaming

of china。  Against the dark background of their olive

skins their tusks stand out in a most striking manner; making

these weapons present a singularly formidable appearance。



Most of these details I noted later; for I was given but little

time to speculate on the wonders of my new discovery。  I had

seen that the eggs were in the process of hatching; and as I

stood watching the hideous little monsters break from their

shells I failed to note the approach of a score of full…grown

Martians from behind me。



Coming; as they did; over the soft and soundless moss;

which covers practically the entire surface of Mars with the

exception of the frozen areas at the poles and the scattered

cultivated districts; they might have captured me easily; but

their intentions were far more sinister。  It was the rattling of

the accouterments of the foremost warrior which warned me。



On such a little thing my life hung that I often marvel that

I escaped so easily。  Had not the rifle of the leader of the

party swung from its fastenings beside his saddle in such a

way as to strike against the butt of his great metal shod spear

I should have snuffed out without ever knowing that death was

near me。  But the little sound caused me to turn; and there

upon me; not ten feet from my breast; was the point of that

huge spear; a spear forty feet long; tipped with gleaming

metal; and held low at the side of a mounted replica of the

little devils I had been watching。



But how puny and harmless they now looked beside this

huge and terrific incarnation of hate; of vengeance and of

death。  The man himself; for such I may call him; was fully

fifteen feet in height and; on Earth; would have weighed some

four hundred pounds。  He sat his mount as we sit a horse;

grasping the animal's barrel with his lower limbs; while the

hands of his two right arms held his immense spear low at the

side of his mount; his two left arms were outstretched laterally

to help preserve his balance; the thing he rode having neither

bridle or reins of any description for guidance。



And his mount!  How can earthly words describe it!  It

towered ten feet at the shoulder; had four legs on either

side; a broad flat tail; larger at the tip than at the root; and

which it held straight out behind while running; a gaping

mouth which split its head from its snout to its long; massive

neck。



Like its master; it was entirely devoid of hair; but was of a

dark slate color and exceeding smooth and glossy。  Its belly

was white; and its legs shaded from the slate of its shoulders

and hips to a vivid yellow at the feet。  The feet themselves were

heavily padded and nailless; which fact had also contributed

to the noiselessness of their approach; and; in common

with a multiplicity of legs; is a characteristic feature of 

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